Olsen is a Danish and Norwegian surname that means "son of Ole", Ole being the Scandinavian form of Olaf, "ancestor's descendant". It became a first name through the fashion for -son and -sen surnames such as Lawson and Jensen, and American ears know it from the Olsen twins and the Olsen family of Minnesota politics. Olsen has climbed from number 4510 in 2015 to number 2176 in 2025, its best rank to date.